I thought that it was about time here on best chandelier lighting to walk you through the process of choosing, buying, installing and maintaining a chandelier. You see, there are a lot of people out there who are trying to decide the best way to make a difference in their home, and they find that there are just so many different things that they can do to add some design flair. Saying that it is hard to know where to start is an understatement. So, in order to help those who are thinking about buying a chandelier for their home, I will take you through the steps that you go through in the important buying decision.
Before we start, I will assume, as you are reading this, that you have made the decision to actually buy a chandelier and that is why you are here reading this. If you are still unsure about whether adding a chandelier to any room in your house is a good idea, I’m sure once you read a few of the articles on this site that you will find that it is a great idea. No matter whether you have an old styled house, or the latest contemporary designs, you will find that chandeliers can add a distinctive edge to any room.
So, you have decided that adding a chandelier to your home is a good idea. Now the fun begins. Before we start on choosing a good design, there are a few things that we need to get sorted. These will help us ultimately choose the right chandelier for our home. We need to make sure that there are certain things in place to enable us to purchase a chandelier, so it is important to consider these first.
Have you got the space for chandeliers?
This is an important first consideration. Chandeliers do come in all kinds of different shapes and sizes, but you need to ensure that the one that you pick will fit in the room. What I would advise is that you decide where you want the chandelier to go, and then measure the height of the room at that point, from the floor to the ceiling. Subtract seven feet from that height and that will give you the maximum drop of the chandelier so that people will be able to pass freely underneath it.
OK, so now we have an idea of the maximum size of chandelier that our room can accommodate. Now we need to check that the ceiling has the necessary setup to hold a chandelier in place. This means that not only does the point on your ceiling need to be served with electricity, but also the ceiling needs to be strong enough to take the weight of the chandelier that you will purchase. If you already have a light fixture in place where you want to put the chandelier, you can be sure that you have the electricity in place, though if you have an old house it is always worth have the electrics checked by a competent professional. The next thing that you want to ensure is that you have the structural stuff in place so that this chandelier won’t fall down as soon as you put it up. If you have a heavy fitting in place already then you should be fine, but you may need to get a building inspector or builder, or both, round to check that everything is good to go. You might have beams under the ceiling already that you can attach the chandelier too, or you might need to have a hook or metal frame put in place. Seek professional advice on this area, as you don’t want to get this bit wrong.
Right, so we now assume that you have everything in place to hang a chandelier, being electrical and a ceiling that can support its weight. You also know the maximum drop of the chandelier so you have a good idea of the largest size that you can go for. There is one more thing that you need to consider before you start looking for that chandelier and that is how much money you have to spend on the project. I highly recommend that you work this out before looking for a chandelier lighting fixture, as once start looking at designs you don’t want to fall in love with something that you can’t afford. You need to consider how much money you have available for this project and that is not only for the purchase of the chandelier but also for shipping and installation. The maintenance costs, as we will look at later, should be minimal.
Now it’s time to start looking for the perfect chandelier for your home. You have everything in place that you need to make this an easy process from here on in. Where should you start looking? I would urge you to look in a wide variety of places for inspiration. A chandelier is a major purchase not only in terms of the cost, but also in terms of the impact it will have on the room you install in it. This means that you want to consider all of the options so that you can be sure that you have found the absolute best chandelier for your home. Some places I would recommend that you look in for inspiration include interior design magazines, specialist lighting shops, general department stores, catalogs, and the Internet. Spend time, don’t make impulsive decisions and you will be able to find something that you get that gut feeling and know is the right chandelier light for your home. If you are not looking at getting a new chandelier, and instead want to go for something old such as a vintage chandelier, or an art deco antique chandelier, then you may need to seek out some antique and artifact dealers. If you are going down this route you need to be prepared to wait until the best light comes in, but also be prepared to spend more money. If you want to make such a large purchase, then I would highly recommend that you find a specialist, rather than a general dealer.
So those are the sources of the chandeliers that you can get, but what about the different types that are out there. In this case, I will refer you to some other excellent articles on my site that can help you understand a bit more about the various chandelier designs that are out there.
The crystal chandelier lighting feature, is perhaps the classic chandelier design that we all think of when looking at these kinds of lights. These are fantastic, and they make you think of grand hallways in stately homes.
Now, if you are looking for something a bit different, why not try something like black chandeliers. These maintain a classic look, but with the black styling you have something that is truly different.
Maybe you are looking for something very unusual, or specific to the house or setting that you want to put the light in. In this case, you might be searching for a deer antler chandelier or similar. There are of course the original styling of a candle chandelier to consider as well.
If you are limited on space, perhaps you want to look at the wide range of mini chandeliers that are available.
As you can see there are lots of different designs to choose from. How you pick the chandelier that is right for you and your home is really up to you, but I will offer you some tips to help you with this buying decision, with a few points.
- Consider the colors used in your room. Think about how you want light to reflect around your room, and how you want the chandelier to add to that effect Some rooms have bold colors, some understated colors. Think about how the chandelier that you choose, and it’s coloring will add to the overall design of your room.
- Consider the period of your room. Is the room you are wanting to grace with a chandelier decorated in a classic way or does it make use of modern decorating techniques. For a classically designed room you may want to go for a classic chandelier design such as crystal, but for a modern room you might think about some of the super modern chandelier designs such as those made from chrome and LEDs or a black crystal chandelier.
- Consider the sizing of your chandelier. I encouraged you earlier in this article to work out the maximum drop of your chandelier so that people could pass easily underneath it. However, this does not mean that you need to buy a chandelier that fills that space up, it merely offers you a way to think about how large a chandelier you could possibly accommodate. I urge you to get a chandelier that is the best possible size for your room.
- Remember less is more. You may be tempted to get more than one chandelier, or you might be thinking that purchasing an intricately design one is the only way to go. With many things in life, less is more, so it is well worth thinking about what will give your room the overall best look.
- Lighting. Remember that the main reasons that chandeliers were created was to provide light to a room. With this in mind it is important to consider how the chandelier you are purchasing will be used. Will you light the room, or just use the chandelier as an ornament in the room. Consider perhaps having a dimmer switch installed to allow you to change the mood of the room easily.
Purchasing a Chandelier
If you have got this far you should have got some important things sorted. You will have established a good stable environment to put your chandelier in, with working electrical and good structural supports. You will have a well decorated room that you want to enhance by adding a chandelier to it and you will have established how much money that you can spend on a chandelier. Once you had these things in place, you have spent time looking at and researching all of the different types of chandelier out there and consider which ones, that come in your budget, style and size requirements that you could possibly purchase. You then have narrowed down a shortlist, given yourself some time to think it over and then you have decide which one you want to purchase. If you have got this far well done! You are about the get something that will make a massive difference in your home. Of course, now you need to actually buy the thing and when you get to this point in your chandelier purchase journey, there are some more things that you need to do.
Chandeliers are expensive items, so you want to make sure that you explore all of the options. I would recommend looking for finance deals that will save you money, asking for discounts for paying in cash and of course shopping around to find the absolute best price on the chandelier lighting that you want to buy. You also want to ask for any extras to be included for free such as delivery, installation, spare bulbs etc. You really want to get the most possible for your money, and you don’t get any of these things unless you ask for them. Consider your options and your purchase properly and make sure that you get the absolute best deal.
Once you have bought your chandelier, you need to get it installed. Hopefully by the time you come to actually purchasing your chandelier you have everything actually in place that you need anyway, and you just need a competent electrician to get it in place. Remember that larger chandeliers will need several people to install and you always want to make sure that you have anything electrical professionally installed and certified where relevant.
Well done! You have gone through the journey and have chosen, purchased a chandelier that looks great. Doesn’t it make the room look better, and wasn’t you hard work and time worth it to get something that really looks good in your home.
We aren’t quite finished, I’d just like to mention a little about maintaining your chandelier. By making sure that you do this you will ensure that you have the longest possible life from your chandelier and you never know it could even become a family heirloom.
Unlike furniture such as sofas or tables, chandeliers spend their lives out of the way up on the ceiling and don’t really suffer much, if any wear and tear. Aside for the requirement to change the bulbs every once in a while you will find that the only thing that you really need to do is to keep it clean. As the chandelier is not moved about much and remains static on the ceiling it will act as a bit of a magnet for dust, so it is important to keep it clean so that this dust doesn’t build up too much and cause your light to become duller and duller over time. Cleaning a chandelier doesn’t have to be hard work, and I would like to share with you my tips for keeping your new one looking great.
The secret to a gorgeous chandelier is to keep on top of the cleaning. To do this I would recommend that you give it a quick dust once a week. To do this, all you need to do is to buy a feather duster (the synthetic ones are the best these days). Get one of the ones with an extendable handle and you won’t even need to stand on anything to clean your chandelier. I would recommend that you don’t stand directly under it when you do this quick clean as you could well become covered in dust and dead flies. Also I would recommend that you do this first when cleaning a room and then leave it for five minutes for the dust to settle before you continue to clean the rest of the room. This is my recommendation for staying on top of the dust, by doing a quick clean every once in a while. You then need to do a deeper clean every so often.
How to Keep Chandeliers Clean
So long as you stay on top of your weekly dusts of your chandelier, you should find that you don’t need to give it a through clean too often. I would recommend that you need to do this deeper clean about once every three months. I just pop a reminder in my diary so that I keep a regular cleaning schedule. When it comes to the time to do the deep clean, you don’t need anything more than a lint-free cloth, and a small amount of vinegar and some luke warm water. Before you start this step I would recommend that you turn of the electricity to the chandelier both at the wall switch and the fuse board, just to be on the safe side. We are not going to get the chandelier wet as you will only be using a lightly dampened and wrung out clothe. With this mixture of a cup or so of vinegar to a jug (litre) of water, you want to clean every nook and cranny of the outside of your chandelier. You will need to either take the chandelier down or get up on a ladder to do this. Don’t clean the electrical points this way, if there is a dist build up these parts you can just give it a quick rub with a dry lint-free cloth. Pay particular attention to any crevices where dust has built up and this could be where your feather duster from your weekly cleans can’t quite reach. As long as you have been staying on top of those weekly cleans then this whole job shouldn’t be to difficult. While you are up there replace any bulbs that are gone. You should really always replace bulbs as soon as they go, as you don’t want any part of the electrics within the chandelier to get overloaded.
Once you have given you chandelier a good clean with this method, you can if you wish use a glass polish such as window cleaner to really make your chandelier sparkle. You will find that the vinegar and water solution does a good job of making it shine, but it is certainly worth this extra step, especially if you get an anti-static cleaner, to really make you chandelier shine. This whole process shouldn’t take you more than an hour and it will be well worth it. Remember if you don’t do your quick weekly cleans, and miss out on these quarterly cleans then you could well end up with a very dull chandelier.
So there you have it, a through guide to the process of preparing your home for a chandelier, choosing the right chandelier, different types of chandelier, tips for purchasing it and a through guide on how to take care of your chandelier. I hope that you have found this complete guide to choosing, purchasing and owning a chandelier useful. If you already have one of these fantastic pieces of decoration then perhaps the tips on how to care for it have helped you, or perhaps you are appreciating how great a chandelier that you already own is and are thinking of buying a new one. IF you are just starting on your journey to becoming the owner of a chandelier then I wish you the best of luck. As you can see with this guide selecting, installing and maintaining your chandelier does take a little work, but when you relax in your room and gaze up and your beautiful chandelier you will see that it is well worth it. The illumination and design flair that chandelier lighting adds to any room in your home is unparalleled with any other lighting fixture. Thanks for reading and if you have any suggestions or comments please share them below, I’d love to hear from you.
Related posts:
